Chair



June 6, 1939. H. A. FREEDMAN CHAIR Filed June 18, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l Patented June 6, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application June 18,

1 Claim.

This invention relates to folding chairs and particularly to chairs of the type commonly used on porches, steamer decks, beaches, lawns, and in such places ordinarily unequipped with proper seating facilities but to which compact light weight chairs of an extremely portable nature may be quickly brought and rapidly set up to accommodate a large number of people.

An object of the invention is to provide a chair which has the capacity to be folded into substantially fiat compact form.

Another object of the invention is to provide a chair of the folding type which while embodying the advantageous characteristics of the lighter types of folding or beach chairs is of more rugged construction than chairs of this general type and precludes any tendency toward ricketiness and loosness so common in such chairs, especially after being in use for a relatively short period of time.

Another object is to provide a portable folding chair of simple structure and design, easy to fabricate from easily obtainable material such as wood, which is capable of adjustment and which properly distributes the weight supported in its various adjusted positions.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages will become more apparent in view of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing in full lines an embodiment of a chair, in accordance.

with my invention, in completely set up position; and in broken lines with the back portion removed from engaging position with the seat portion to permit the chair to be folded;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same chair; Figure 3 is a top plan view of the chair; Figure 4 discloses the chair in partly folded position;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary View in perspective of the chair showing the back rest in secured position to the seat and the seat in secured position to the rear leg.

Referring to the drawings, the chair has front supporting legs l0 and rear supporting legs ll pivotally secured at [2. A seat element I3 is pivotally secured to the front leg at M, said seat element having at its rear, pin-like projections 5 I5 which may engage one of a series of notches l6 formed in rear legs H in order that the chair may be capable of one of several adjustments to provide for the desired position of the various elements of the chair in accordance with the 155 wishes or desires of the user. Arm rest like side 1937, Serial No. 149,003

pieces I! are pivotally secured to the front and rear legs at their upper portions and preferably by the same pivot that secures these two legs together. The arm rest like side pieces I! are pivotally secured at I8 to the back rest IS in between the two ends thereof. The back rest is provided with a batten-like key portion 20 which is fashioned to engage notches 2| formed in the seat element l3 and is composed of slats 22 secured to and supported in spaced relation by battens 23 and 24. The seat element l3 may be provided with slat-like cross pieces 25 and the front legs I0 may be provided with a leg rest cross member 26.

The entire chair may be fabricated from an inexpensive and easily obtainable material such as wood. Those parts which are fixedly secured to each other may be so secured by such a simple means as nails or other suitable means and those elements which are pivotally secured may involve in their fabrication such simple means as bolts and washers or other equivalent means.

This simple but rugged construction of the chair makes for not only simplicity of fabrication but for the comfort of the user in any of the various adjusted unfolded positions and yet when in a folded position occupies a minimum of space which is a very essential feature in an article of this type. When the chair is ordinarily loaded the front legs will assume a portion of the load. The seat element l3 being naturally sloped will cause a greater portion of the load to be transmitted through rear legs II. The rear legs H, however. being pivotally connected through seat element 13 to the front legs ID will transmit some of this load to the front legs making for a substantially even distribution to both the front and rear legs of the said load to be supported. It is to be noted that substantially parallel arm rest like side pieces and the seat element; and the upper portion of the front legs and the back rest, which are also substantially parallel, make up, when the chair is in unfolded set-up position, substantially a parallelogram, with the upper portion of the rear legs ll forming a diagonal to this parallelogram.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in my device without departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore I do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claim.

I claim:

A folding chair comprising pivotally connected member with ends projecting IateraIIy from the back and detachably disposed in said notches and seat side rails whereby a collapsible chair is provided having a seat releasably and adjustably supported by the rear legs, and a back rest re- 5 leasably supported by the seat.

HARRY A. FREEDMAN. 

